Letter from the Governor of New York about Gun Violence

We are all sadly aware that last week, seventeen community members at the Stoneman Douglas High School were gunned down in one of the deadliest school shootings in our nation’s history.

In the wake of this tragedy, Washington has responded with the same appalling complacency and inaction that it always responds with. Plenty of thoughts and prayers. No action.

In New York, we are doing the opposite. Following the Sandy Hook shooting, we passed the SAFE Act — which banned assault rifles like the AR-15 and made it harder for people deemed to be dangerously mentally ill to purchase guns. Firearm deaths have fallen and our state is safer for it.

But our work isn’t done. I have proposed new legislation to remove all firearms from those who commit domestic violence crimes. And today, I joined the Governors of New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut in launching States for Gun Safety – a multi-state coalition to take action against gun violence in the face of failed leadership at the federal level.

This time, things can be different. The young survivors of the Parkland shooting are speaking out, demanding more from the adults in power — and their awe-inspiring efforts bring me hope.

The American people have waited far too long — but with your help, we can say once and for all that while this was not the first school shooting in America, it will be the last.